After a delay in opening last fall due to Covid-19, Ikea is set to open its first store in Mexico. But you’ll have to make a reservation to go shopping.

The retail giant announced that doors will open at its three-story, 23,500-square-meter store on April 8 in the Encuentro Oceanía shopping center. But to maintain Covid-19 social distancing measures, the store is requiring that visitors go online to schedule a visit.

Until Mexico City’s color on the national coronavirus stoplight map changes, only 7,500 people will be allowed inside the store at a time, 30% of the store’s capacity. However, customers can order items online and pick them up in the store, officials said.

Customers wishing to enter the store will be able to make a reservation — through the webpage or its mobile app — starting April 1. Members of the Ikea Family club — a rewards club for customers — will be notified when they can make a reservation, Ikea México said.

Director Malcom Pruys said the store has been the most challenging to set up due to Covid-19. The store was originally supposed to open in October, but the coronavirus pandemic pushed that date back.

Among other issues the company has faced in opening, said Pruys, is lower-than-normal store inventory: Ikea stores normally carry 7,400 different articles for sale, but the Mexico store will start with only 5,300 because of logistics delays.

The company also faced logistics issues when it opened its online store in October. Demand was immediately so high that within days the company was running out of products and the site was warning customers that deliveries could be delayed as much as a month.

Like other Ikea stores, the Mexico City branch, located near the Mexico City airport, will include a restaurant with a Swedish menu. What is less usual is that it will have inventory that the company says is meant to help customers create more environmentally sustainable homes. The building itself is equipped with solar panels and a rainwater capturing system.

The store will also have a customer service area where visitors can meet with home interior design experts.

Ikea plans to open a 9,900-square-meter store in the city of Puebla in the Via San Ángel shopping center sometime in the first half of 2022.

Source: Expansión (sp)